John McEnroe - Beginning To Descend

Though he would remain on tour for another eight years, finally retiring from professional tennis in 1992, McEnroe's meteoric rise to fame did not have the staying power that most had expected. Many fans had expected to see the skinny kid with the big mouth dominate the Grand Slam events throughout the eighties, but it was not to happen. In 1985 he won only eight singles titles, and his critics began attributing his decline to the McEnroe attitude.

McEnroe was notorious for a lifestyle not befitting that of a tennis star. At 20, McEnroe had developed a passion for rock music, and he often spent his free time (of which most tennis superstars do not have much) practicing and hanging out with rock stars. He was also sporadic in his training, relying on his natural talent to get by out on the court. This served him fine for when he was young, but in a world where the top players devote every minute to staying on top of their games, McEnroe's ways may have contributed to his early decline in the sport. In an article in Sports Illustrated, Sally Jenkins wrote that "McEnroe's seven Grand slam titles amount to about half of what he could have won had he bothered to train properly and gain control of his temper." It was about this time that he fell in love with the actress Tatum O'Neal, whom he married in 1986. Twice in the late eighties McEnroe would take sabbaticals from tennis, emerging after many months away, compiling some singles victories, then disappearing from the circuit yet again.

John McEnroe